Sigma rule: Possible DC Shadow Attack

A detection rule from the SigmaHQ repository, shown as its author published it. Dataset version ref-b42196dea038, updated 2022-10-17T00:00:00.000Z.

Rule

Title
Possible DC Shadow Attack
Status
test
Level
medium
Author
Ilyas Ochkov, oscd.community, Chakib Gzenayi (@Chak092), Hosni Mribah
Date
2019-10-25
Modified
2022-10-17
File
rules/windows/builtin/security/win_security_possible_dc_shadow.yml
Commit
ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84

Detects DCShadow via create new SPN

Log source

product
windows
service
security
definition
The "Audit Directory Service Changes" logging policy must be configured in order to receive events. Audit events are generated only for objects with configured system access control lists (SACLs). Audit events are generated only for objects with configured system access control lists (SACLs) and only when accessed in a manner that matches their SACL settings. This policy covers the following events ids - 5136, 5137, 5138, 5139, 5141. Note that the default policy does not cover User objects. For that a custom AuditRule need to be setup (See https://github.com/OTRF/Set-AuditRule)

Detection

selection1:
    EventID: 4742
    ServicePrincipalNames|contains: 'GC/'
selection2:
    EventID: 5136
    AttributeLDAPDisplayName: servicePrincipalName
    AttributeValue|startswith: 'GC/'
condition: 1 of selection*

False positives (as the rule lists them)

  • Valid on domain controllers; exclude known DCs

Tags

  • attack.credential-access
  • attack.defense-impairment
  • attack.t1207

MITRE ATT&CK ids this rule names

Related rules

References

Read on 2026-11-03T00:58:21.399Z under licence sigma-drl-1.1@d5f4c36a from https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84/rules/windows/builtin/security/win_security_possible_dc_shadow.yml

Sources and licences

  • SigmaHQ

    "Possible DC Shadow Attack" by Ilyas Ochkov, oscd.community, Chakib Gzenayi (@Chak092), Hosni Mribah (SigmaHQ). Rule: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84/rules/windows/builtin/security/win_security_possible_dc_shadow.yml.
    Licensed under the Detection Rule License (DRL) 1.1: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/Detection-Rule-License

    Detection Rule License (DRL) 1.1

Cite this page

Dragons Eye Ransomware Tracker, "Sigma rule: Possible DC Shadow Attack",
entity page, dataset version ref-b42196dea038, updated 2022-10-17T00:00:00.000Z,
https://ransomware-tracker.com/detections/sigma/32e19d25-4aed-4860-a55a-be99cb0bf7ed (accessed 2026-11-03).
Underlying source: SigmaHQ rule 32e19d25-4aed-4860-a55a-be99cb0bf7ed, commit ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84.

Pages change. The dataset version identifies the data, but no archive of old versions is kept, so this citation cannot be replayed later.